Dave Kopel: Bill of Rights Safeguards “Pre-Existing Human Rights”

By Ari Armstrong

The Bill of Rights does not grant government permissions to people; rather, it recognizes and protects people’s rights that are antecedent to government. Legal scholar Dave Kopel explains this point in a recent article for The Volokh Conspiracy, noting that the first two Amendments are concerned primarily with recognizing individual rights, whereas othe…